No. 63 Return (2011) 50 of 100

 

This film lands right in the middle of the Shannon oeuvre and it’s a decent effort with a significant role for the big man.

The film follows the highs and mainly lows of Kelli, who is a military reservist returning home following a tour of duty. She tells friends that she didn’t have it too bad but she clearly has more baggage than an airport carousel.

She has two cute daughters and is married to Shannon, whose character name is helpfully ‘Mike’. Mike is a plumber and a simple man who gets great joy out of blooper videos and in finding a particularly good plumbing job.

Kelli initially gets back into the swing of her mundane life including at her factory job where she works with Mickey off of ‘Boardwalk Empire’. She goes out drinking with her pals and later gets pulled over for drink driving. To avoid jail she attends an AA meeting where she meets fellow drunk and veteran, John Slattery off ‘Mad Men’.

Things crumble further when it turns out that Mike is pumping the lady from the car dealership and the two drift apart to the point that he gets a custody order for the kids. Kelli tries to clean up her act but just when she’s finished her rehab she gets mobilisation orders for the army. To try and escape going back she tries to get pregnant by shagging the Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men guys but to no avail. Her last option is to head to Canada and having changed the colour of her and her daughters’ hair she heads off. Will she go through with the plan or is another ‘return’ on the cards?

I enjoyed this slightly depressing slice of life. It had ‘independent film’ written all over it with mostly handheld cameras employed, but a great cast made for an entertaining watch. Linda Cardellini was excellent in the lead and generally carried the whole film. She was like a slightly rougher Pam from ‘The Office’ and her decline was well observed. Initially she was all optimistic before ending up getting it on in the pub car park.

Shannon was good as the nice husband but the character was a bit insipid and I didn’t buy that he was fighting for his wife and kids. I would definitely get him to replace my pipes though – that was some quality work!

The film does deal with issues like PTSD and isolation as well as the difficulties veterans face reintegrating into society. John Slattery’s character was the epitome of this, living in the woods and taking no notice of the law. Seemed to work for him though!

All in all this was a decent, watchable effort that had a lot to say. A bit of redemption would have been nice but then again life isn’t always fair.

When is Shannon-On? - 01.05

Outcome? Stuck with the kids

Film 3.5/5

Shannon Stars 3.5/5